Twisted Roots
by AbaratFox
Summary: Danzo takes an interest in the young Naruto and requests that the boy be placed in Roots. The third refuses but Danzo always finds a way to get what he wants...non yaoi.
1. Naruto

**Hey all! Abarat Fox here! **

**I claim no rights to Naruto. None whatsoever. This is purely fan made. **

**And before anyone asks, I'm still doing Clay Fox! I got out of surgery yesterday morning and my pain killer drugged mind came up with this thing. I was quite literally drooling blood while I typed this. -_-**

**So you can wait until I'm off my meds for the next chapter of Clay Fox, okay? Good! Please enjoy my latest story; Twisted Roots!

* * *

**Sarutobi paced in his office as he waited for one of his ANBU to bring him news on the young Naruto's condition. Until then, the old man's mind was free to wander free and no matter how he distracted himself he always ended up thinking about the Nine-tail's attack on the village the night before.

Kushina's seal must had been broken during childbirth, but she had survived past the seal's destruction and the Kyuubi had not killed her immediately. Why? And why had Minato not prevented the demon from escaping? Perhaps the fox truly had been too powerful…

Poor Naruto, he was just over day old but already the nine-tail's jailor and an orphan. What kind of life would the boy lead? Sarutobi knew that the villagers would have a difficult time separating the boy from the demon despite Minato's wishes. He had even gone so far as to ban people from speaking of the demon to try to help the hatred against Naruto be abolished and he had arranged to have ANBU watch the child grow up and protect him but would all that truly keep Naruto safe?

Sarutobi almost regretted giving Naruto his mother's name. It was not a well known fact that Minato and Kushina had been married and it was possible that people would be kinder to 'Namikaze Naruto' than 'Uzumaki Naruto'. Or people could hate the boy even more.

Sarutobi stopped next to his desk and rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn't had any sleep since the death of his successor and it was finally starting to get to him. He had given up the title of Hokage and had just been settling into retirement when this had happened. Now he had a village to fix, graves to be dug, and Naruto to take care of without so much as a moment's notice.

"Sir," Sarutobi looked over his shoulder and saw an ANBU with a vulture mask sitting on his window sill. He waited patiently until the old man gestured for him to continue speaking. "Naruto's condition is stable. One nurse made aggressive actions towards him and Hawk escorted her off the primacies. Currently Cat is guarding him in his room and Hawk is patrolling the area."

"Is it safe for me to visit?" Sarutobi asked and Vulture seemed alarmed the exhaustion in his voice. He studied his Hokage for a few moments before he reluctantly nodded. "Accompany me back to the hospital and return to your post."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Cat stood at the window and watched Naruto squirm in his crib. The ANBU had been struggling to suppress the urge to pick up the infant and comfort it, he had been squirming earlier and the ANBU had noticed that the doctors had only touched him as much as they absolutely had to. That kind of behavior wasn't exactly abuse so Cat had been unable to insist on a new doctor.

The door swung open and Cat snapped into a respectful salute as the third Hokage entered. "How has he been doing?" The old man asked.

"He has only just managed to fall asleep, sir." Cat said and Sarutobi nodded.

"Has there been any more aggressive behavior towards him?"

"No, sir."

Sarutobi seemed to relax and he smiled kindly at the young ANBU member. "You have done well, Cat. I will send relief for the three of you in the morning."

"Do you mind if I ask who?"

"Bear, Swan, and Dog."

"Dog? Sir, I don't think Dog is currently mentally able to handle his ANBU work so soon after the death of the fourth." Sarutobi ran his fingers through his thinning hair and frowned. How had he forgotten that Dog was Kakashi? The boy was probably mourning the loss of his teacher!

"Then Eagle will do."

"Yes sir." Cat watched the Hokage move to the side of the crib and smile affectionately at the sleeping child inside. The old man reached down and placed a hand on the child's cheek. Cat smiled under his mask as the infant snuggled in to the first kind touch he had received in his short life but it was over all too soon and the Hokage withdrew.

"Keep up the good work."

"Yes sir." Cat watched the old man leave before he sat back down on the window sill and waited for the relief team at dawn.

* * *

When Sarutobi got back to his office, someone was waiting for him. "Danzo?" Sarutobi asked as his ex-friend placed the Hokage hat back on the desk. "What do you want?"

"Just a chat, old friend, nothing more." Danzo said without turning around and Sarutobi lifted an eyebrow. Since when did Danzo come 'just to chat'? "I want to discuss Naruto."

Sarutobi felt his heart leap into his throat. It could not be good if the war savvy ninja wanted to discuss Naruto. There was no doubt that all Danzo saw the infant as was a potential weapon…or threat. "What about him?"

"I want to keep a closer eye on him." Danzo said as he turned to look at Sarutobi.

"The same way you did with the Uchiha clan?" Danzo's eyes flickered with some unknown emotion but it was gone before Sarutobi could identify it.

"No. I want to make Naruto a member of Roots." Sarutobi's blood ran cold at Danzo's words. Roots? Even Danzo couldn't seriously think that was a good idea!

"Naruto is only an infant, Danzo."

"He will grow. I want to keep a closer eye on him in case the seal gives in any way and inside Roots he could become a valuable asset to Konoha."

"No, Danzo, I will not allow you to do this. You will not bring this up again unless you wish to see Roots disbanded." Sarutobi said as calmly as he could and Danzo simply nodded. The old ninja walked past Sarutobi but he paused at the door.

"If the nine-tail's chakra ever starts to leak then I will recruit him, regardless of what you want." He said coolly.

"Very well, Danzo." Sarutobi said and the door clicked shut. The Hokage had no doubt in his mind that Minato's seal would hold no matter what. The promise he had made need never come to pass. But there was a tiny doubt in the old man's mind. If Danzo wanted Naruto, was there any length he would go to, any level he would not stoop to so that his goal would be achieved?

* * *

Cat trudged home and stifled a yawn. He was exhausted, he had not stopped working since the fox had attacked and he was looking forward to returning home. Cat had been told that his home had not been among the ones that had been destroyed which relived him. That meant that both his parents were safe.

Cat drew level with a small, gray house and he climbed in through a first floor window and into the living room.

"Welcome home, Shin!" His mother said from the couch. Shin took off his cat mask and hung it one a peg on the wall.

"Good morning, mom." He grumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He walked behind the couch and kissed the side of his mother's cheek. "Where's dad?"

"You're father went out to help with repairs." The black haired woman said brightly and Shin couldn't help but to smile back.

"I'm going to go to bed, okay mom?"

"Alright, come find me when you wake up and I'll make you some food." She said. Shin twirled a strand of silver hair between two fingers and he reached down and rested a hand on his mother's swollen belly.

"Good morning, Sai." He mumbled to the unborn child before he walked upstairs and collapsed on his bed.

* * *

**So how was that? I won't know what you thought if you don't review! ;) **


	2. Forgotten Friend

**Heya! **

**Before we begin, I wish to inform you that there has been quite a time skip since the last chapter! :D **

**I will eventually tell you all exactly what happened to Naruto and Sai but you'll have to wait a bit for that~! **

**School has started so my update speed has slowed down. Sorry.

* * *

**"This'll be the best prank ever!" Naruto said as he jumped up and down in his seat.

"Oh, will you shut up?" Sakura snapped from the row behind him. Naruto turned around and grinned at the pink haired girl.

"Aw, Sakura-chan, why are you so mean? I'm just having fun!" He pretended to pout and Sakura threw her pen at his head.

"Is the violence really necessary?" Sai asked as he slid into the bench next to Naruto. Ino, who was next to Sakura, gasped and hid her face behind a pile of books. "Hi Naruto. Hi Sasuke." Naruto hugged Sai and Sasuke grunted from the other side of Naruto.

"So what is this prank that you were planning?" Sai asked more to be polite than anything else. Naruto grinned from ear to ear and snickered.

"There was this old dude at the Raman shop last night, with an X scar on his chin and lots of bandages, right? I overheard him saying that…" Naruto was cut off as Iruka entered the room and ordered everyone silent. None of Naruto's friend was too miffed about the interruption. Why would they want to hear about his latest scheme for getting into trouble? They'd find out tomorrow anyway.

XXX

"Hi Shin!" Naruto ran up and hugged Sai's older brother. The ex-ANBU had become quite close to Naruto over the years and that closeness had translated into the friendship between Sai and Naruto. Shin had developed the habit of picking both boys up from the academy, after all orphans needed to stick together.

"Hello Naruto." Shin scooped up the little blond and deposited him on top of a brick fence. Sai grabbed his older brother's hand and the three of them set off. "So how was school?"

"Terrible!" Naruto said as he waved his arms to keep himself from falling off the fence. "Iruka-sensei is so mean! I just do one little thing wrong and BAM, he goes off at me!"

"Naruto fell asleep in class." Sai explained. Naruto feigned shock and outrage at the statement.

"You traitor! It was just quality nap time!" Their light banter continued all the way to Naruto's tiny apartment. Sai and Shin walked on the sidewalk with Naruto jumping from fence to fence a little ways above them. "See you tomorrow!" Naruto said as he waved at Sai and Shin.

"You know, my offer still stands." Shin said but Naruto just shook his head. Sai tilted his head slightly but he didn't say anything.

"Naw, I'm good." Naruto said and Shin smiled sadly. Shin waited until Naruto had disappeared into his house before he tugged Sai down the street.

"What was the offer?" Sai asked. Shin looked down in surprise before he smiled and stopped walking.

"I told him that he could come live with us. We're basically family already and he's on his own." Sai was staring at the pavement and Shin wondered if he objected to the idea. "Sai…?" The black haired boy looked into Shin's eyes and pursed his lips.

"Why'd he say no?" Shin almost laughed.

"Something about not being able to pull pranks with me around," He said. Sai looked on ahead and started marching along the sidewalk. He was going to have to have a talk with Naruto tomorrow.

XXX

"Still no sign of him?"

"It's been weeks! You think he overdid it with his last prank?"

"What, so you think that Naruto's dea-?" The group of kids abruptly stopped talking as Sai stalked past and sat down in his normal seat. He folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on his wrists. Sasuke and Sakura looked away from his awkwardly but Ino stared at the red rims under his eyes and felt her heart wrench. _When Naruto comes back I swear that I'll…_ Ino thought but in truth she was just as worried about Naruto as anyone else. Why had he vanished the day after he had been talking about his 'best prank ever'?

All of Naruto's friends were loathing themselves for not paying more attention when he had been rambling about his latest prank. What if he had told them or even hinted at where he might go? Sai was the worst out of all of them. Naruto was basically his brother! He had even hoped that the blond might someday move in with him and Shin!

Iruka entered the room and looked sadly at the little cluster of friends before ordering everyone to their seats. He took a quick roll before an ANBU appeared at the door and he had to step outside. The class slowly started to whisper and cast wary glances at Sai. There was only one topic for discussion; Naruto.

"Ha! I bet he got what was coming! The stupid bastard probably tried to steal all the faucets out of the Hokage's tower and the ANBU got tired of it!" Kiba said a little too loudly. He was on the other side of the room next to a sleeping Shikamaru and a nervous Choji.

"Um, Kiba, I think you might want to keep your voice down." Choji said but Kiba just laughed it off. Choji glanced at Sai who was just sitting there as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Why? It's true! And anyone who says otherwise didn't know to him too well!" Kiba said in an even louder voice. "Naruto was just a worthless clown! I'm glad he's dead!"

"Why don't you just shut up?" Everyone in the room stared in surprise at Ino. Her seat had fallen backwards when she stood and her hands were balled into fists. Only Sakura seemed to notice how badly her hands were shaking or that there were tears in her eyes.

"Ino…" Sakura muttered.

"Why don't you make me?" Kiba sneered. Ino glared at him for a second before she stalked down the stairs and stood in front of Kiba's table. The dog boy had stood up when he saw that Ino meant it and his dog was growling from his perch on Kiba's head. The commotion had woken Shikamaru and he was wearily looking from the two.

"Ino," Ino felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned around to see the red eyes of Sai. "Please let it go, he's not worth you getting expelled."

"But-!" Ino started but she cut herself off at the look in Sai's eyes. "Okay." She turned around and let him lead her back. She wasn't even embarrassed that Sai was _touching_ her. They had only made it halfway across the room before Kiba spoke up again.

"See? Even Sai thinks I'm right!" There was a massive movement in the classroom and Kiba suddenly found himself as a human target. Ino and Sai both got hits on his face, Sakura kicked his knee hard enough for it to crack, and Sasuke punched Kiba in the stomach.

Those four were not the only ones to move. Shikamaru had brought a heavy book down hard on the top of Kiba's head, several bugs had bitten him courteous of Shino, Choji had swung his metal lunchbox and hit Kiba's thigh with the corner, and even the gentle Hinata had punched him between the shoulder blades.

This was the scene that Iruka walked in to see. There was a long pause while all the students just stared at Iruka. Then Kiba fell to his knees and Akamaru bit Ino's calf. Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose while Sakura helped detach the dog and he waited for her muttered curses to die out before he started talking.

"Kiba, Sai, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Choji, and Shikamaru. Hall. Now." He said in one breath. The student filled past him out the door and as Kiba passes Iruka noticed the bug bites. "You too, Shino."

Iruka got the story from each of them after Kiba had been taken to the school nurse and there punishment had been surprisingly light. They just had to stand in the hall silently and hold bricks in the air. Ino looked back and forth at all the people around her and thought, _please come back Naruto. All these people are your friends and we miss you. Even if we don't always act like friends…I don't want to know what would happen without you around. _

XXX

Four years later

Naruto entered the Root chambers silently and quickly walked down the hall to the door on the far side. He automatically took a knee and lowered his head but he did not have to wait long. The door clicked open and he allowed a tiny smile to flicker across his lips before he said, "Hello, Danzo-sama" in his normal, emotionless voice.

Danzo didn't reply, instead took a few steps forward and let the door close again with a tiny click. He observed the undersized blond for a few seconds before he cleared his throat. "I have a mission for you." Danzo said simply. "Rise."

Naruto obediently got to his feet but he refused to make eye contact with his leader. "Recently, a mission was given to a genin team. Their objective was to go to the wave country and act as guards to a bridge builder." Naruto remained completely emotionless which pleased Danzo immensely. It had taken a long time to train the boy to rid himself of all emotions and he had wondered if Naruto might slip when presented with his first mission.

"However, the client lied about the enemies after him. The team was attacked by a missing-nin and former Mist ANBU, Momochi Zabuza. The team's instructor has been injured and may not be able to defeat Zabuza without aid. Your mission is to travel to Mist and assassinate Zabuza if Hatake fails." Confusion flashed across Naruto's features but it was gone in a second. Danzo doubted that anyone aside from himself would have noticed so he let it slide. Besides, all the members of Root had a deep respect for Kakashi and to hear that he had been hurt would come as a shock.

"I am sending you because you can easily pretend to be another genin and will be less likely to attract unwanted attention. Your mission does not involve the bridge builder, your sole concern it to aid Kakashi, understand?"

"Yes sir!" Naruto said as he snapped a salute. Danzo held out a small scroll and Naruto took it. He held it at his side and waited for an explanation.

"That is all the information on Hatake's team. Familiarize yourself with it. You will also be using a disguise for this mission. For now, your name is Fox." Danzo held out a white ceramic mask and Naruto took it as well. He studied the red patterns on the mask for a few seconds before turning his attention back to Danzo. "You will tell the team that you are an ANBU member sent by the third for extra help." That was actually true, Roots was an ANBU subdivision and Danzo had gotten permission from the third.

"You are dismissed." Naruto nodded once before he vanished. Danzo turned around and walked back through the door he had used to enter without so much as a backwards glance.

XXX

Naruto was sitting at his favorite place in Konoha, in the back corner of a flower shop roof above the Raman stand. He put on the mask and tried to get used to the feeling of baked clay against his skin but no matter how he adjusted it the mask just felt wrong. Naruto sighed and stopped fiddling with it. What good would it do, anyway?

Naruto unrolled the green scroll that Danzo had given him. Team Seven…Instructor: Kakashi…Students: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Sai. Naruto stared at the three names and almost smiled as he was flooded with memories. So that's what was going on. This was a test and a mission. Danzo needed to be completely sure that Naruto would not return to his old ways. _Finally, now no one will be able to doubt where my loyalties lie. Even the Hokage will accept that I am loyal to Root and Root alone. _

The scroll was complete with pictures and stats on each person's skills. Naruto only skimmed the genin's section but he read Kakashi's section multiple times. Zabuza must be one hell of a ninja to get anywhere near the copy cat ninja! Unless Kakashi was just getting rusty…Naruto finished reading the details of the mission before destroying the scroll.

Well, time to get going. Naruto readjusted the mask a few more times before he took off over the rooftops of Konoha. He needed to get to Wave as quickly as possible and Kakashi had hinted that Zabuza would attack again within a month of their first engagement and that had happened some time ago. Naruto put on an extra burst of speed as he left the boundaries of the village and entered the forest. He had to move as quickly as possible, if he didn't then some of the excitement buzzing in his mind might reflect on his posture.

XXX

Kakashi watched as his students charged at their selected trees. He had introduced the tree climbing exercise only moments ago and he was interested to see how his students would be able to handle it.

As predicted, Sakura quickly mastered her control and Kakashi watched her with amusement as she slowed to a walk and positively beamed. Two loud thumps and muffled cursing alerted him to the boy's failure. Kakashi smirked under his mask as Sai grit his teeth and rubbed a rising lump on the back of his head. Sasuke was on his knees holding his arm to his chest and looking pissed. _So Sai used too much chakra and Sasuke didn't use enough._ Kakashi thought.

"Heh! This is easy!" Sakura teased from a high branch in her tree. The boys stared at her in amazement and Sakura stuck out her tongue. Sai and Sasuke studied each other for a few seconds before they made a mad dash at their trees again only to achieve the same result.

Kakashi's good mood evaporated when he felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck prickle. Someone was watching the training exercise. Kakash's hand flew to his weapon pouch before he relaxed. The chakra signature the observer emanated was familiar to Kakashi. It felt like Minato's chakra, except it was better hidden and far more powerful. That combination could only belong to one person, and that was _Naruto._ Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck in annoyance, he was painfully aware of Naruto's relationship with his students. It was just like Danzo to pull a stunt like this.

The jonin quietly excused himself and walked into the forest without any of his students noticing. He relocated himself to the base of an elm tree, some sixty yards from where his team was training. "Show yourself," he commanded and the response was instantaneous.

Naruto dropped down in front of him and bowed. Kakashi's heart leapt to his throat at the sight of Minato and Kushina's son wearing the black pants and midriff shirt that was standard for Root members. "Hatake-sama," Naruto greeted without looking up.

"Rise, Naruto." Kakashi ordered and the blonde complied. Naruto's reddish-purple eyes stared blankly from behind his ANBU-fox mask and Kakashi felt the eerie presents of the Kyuubi. It wasn't malicious at all, more of an eco of the demon really, but Kakashi still felt uncomfortable.

"Please call me Fox while I'm on this mission." Naruto said.

"What exactly is your mission?"

"I am here to assist Hatake-sama in the assassination of Momochi Zabuza." Naruto said Kakashi frowned under his mask. Assassination? Is that what Danzo had in mind?

"Listen to me, Fox. You will follow my orders while on this mission, understand?"

There was a long pause before Naruto replied. "Yes sir. So long as it doesn't interfere with my main objective." That was probably as good as Kakashi was ever going to get so he didn't protest.

"Go to Tazuna's, the bridge builder's, house and stand guard. Zabuza wants to assassinate Tazuna and will only come out if he is still alive and well. Go!" Kakashi ordered in the same tone he had used as an ANBU. Naruto bowed once more before he jumped up into a tree and ran in the direction of the village. Kakashi tightened his grip on his crutch and limped back to where his team was training, pondering this new development all the while.

XXX

Kakashi lead his exhausted students up the villages twisting roads to Tazuna's house. It was almost sunset all three genin had been on the verge of collapse or, in Sakura's case, already collapsed.

"You think dinners ready?" Sai said.

"Oh no! I told Tsunami-san that I'd help her cook tonight!" Sakura jerked out of her stupor and bit her fingernail. "She must think I'm so lazy…"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I'm sure Tsunami-san will understand." Sai said as he pat Sakura's shoulder. The pink girl just sank into a deeper gloom and Sai laughed. Sasuke ignored both of them as he stormed up the walkway to the bridge builder's house. He had taken the day's failure hard and he wasn't in the mood for talking.

The angry Uchiha opened the door and stalked inside.

"Oh! Welcome back!" Tsunami called from the kitchen. "Dinner's just about ready to be set on the table." The team entered the small room and saw Inari and Tazuna already seated. Sakura went about helping Tsunami set up while her teammates sat down.

"Kakashi-san," Tsunami said she put down the last plate. "Um…About the boy on the roof…" The genin all shot Kakashi looks of varying degrees of confusion but Kakashi just smiled. _So he's camped out on the roof, eh? I guess that works out well for me. I need to think of a way to keep these three from meeting him. _

"Ah, so you met Fox then?" The name felt a little awkward to say. It was likely that Danzo picked the name just to get under Kakashi's, or the Third's, skin. Tsunami nodded and looked out the window. Kakashi was a little surprised to see a worried look of the woman's face.

"My daughter's just a little confused." Tazuna explained as he set his cup down. "And so am I, for that matter. You told me that we'd be getting a trained ninja as extra protection and instead we get some creepy brat that looks even smaller than these three!"

"Hey!" Sakura said but Sai gestured for her to be quiet. Kakashi rose up his hands and chuckled.

"Fox _is_ a trained ninja, despite his age. Actually, he's elite. ANBU is an organization of high caliber ninja in our village and Fox is a member. He's on par with both Zabuza and I." Tazuna huffed and Tsunami put a hand over her mouth.

"He's only a child! How could his parents let him do something so dangerous?" Tsunami gasped.

"Fox is an orphan." Kakashi said simply. Immediately he knew that he had just made thing awkward. "I'll take him some food." He said as he piled a mountain of food onto the plate. If Naruto was anything like his father he would be ravenous. Kakashi doubted that the boy had slept or eaten since leaving Konoha.

Naruto was standing of the west side of the roof which explained why Kakashi hadn't seen him earlier. The boy was hidden from the road by a tall chimney and the neighboring houses but he still had a perfect vantage of the surroundings.

"Hatake-sama." Naruto dropped to his knees in a boy and Kakashi felt a strange mixture of sorrow and anger wrench at his heart but his face remained impassive.

"Stand. I brought you food _Fox_." Kakashi handed the boy his plate and turned around. He stood in place and waited for the sounds of Naruto eating but there was only silence. Kakashi turned around and saw Naruto in the same position as before. "Do I have to make that an order?" Naruto still did not move and Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck.

"Fine. Fox, I order you to sit down and eat. I'll keep watch while you do." Naruto sat down and Kakashi sat down next to him and scanned the horizon. Predictably he saw nothing but he knew that if he returned to the table Naruto would refuse to eat.

There was a tiny clink as Naruto set down his mask and another when he picked up the chopsticks. Kakashi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and was a little surprised about how much he looked like his parents.

The kyuubi had tinted Naruto's eyes to a shade of purple that was almost crimson and drained color out of his hair so that it was a much paler shade than his father's, not to mention the thicker eyelashes and whisker marks but Kakashi could still see the similarities. Naruto's hair was just as spiky as his fathers and his face had the same shape as Kushina's. Apparently, the boy had once been his mother's son, constantly calling attention to himself and screaming things like 'Dattebyo' and 'Believe it'. That had been before Danzo had gotten a hold of him. Now Naruto was just a tool.

_At least he inherited Minato's appetite. _Kakashi thought as Naruto inhaled his food.

"Done." Naruto said as he set the plate on the next to Kakashi and put his mask back on. "Please thank Tsunami-san for me." Naruto stood and walked to his original position and stood there while Kakashi left, arms folded and face forward.

They were still eating when Kakashi entered the house. He set the dirty plate in the sink and got a clean plate from a cabinet. "Fox gives his thanks." He said as he sat down but Tsunami only nodded stiffly. Kakashi guessed she must be a little miffed the boy on her roof and he didn't blame her. Almost everyone who knew about it was against Danzo's practices but he did it anyway.

Sai and Sasuke were both shooting him looks that clearly said, 'Who is Fox?'

"Later," he muttered but both boys continued to glare. Kakashi choose to delve into his meal rather than pay attention to his students and eventually they started eating too. Not one word was spoken for the duration of the meal.

When everyone was done, Kakashi directed his student's to his room and he hobbled after them. Sakura complained about wanting to help Tsunami but the boys were eager to start questioning their teacher about this new person.

Sai seated himself on the window sill and the two sat down on the floor. Kakashi leaned on against the door and drummed his fingers against his crutch. He knew that there were questions coming and to tell the truth he didn't know how to handle them. This was a very delicate subject and he wanted to protect his genin. How could he ever tell them that Naruto had become and emotionless killing machine that held no feelings for any of them?

"So," Sakura finally said. "Who is Fox and why is he here?"

* * *

**Well that seemed like a good place to stop. I'm going to work on a chapter or two of Clay Fox before I start the next chapter of this…unless you people want to read more of this. **

**How was it? This chapter is way different from the first and I want to know if everyone likes the direction I took. **

**I already planned out exactly what happened to Naruto in those four years and I'll tell you…eventually. :D **

**Abarat Fox out! **


	3. Uneventful Night

**Meh, so it's a little chapter. It's also kind of a filler chapter so think of it more like the calm before the storm because chaos will be ensuing shortly. :D**

**Also, there is some Sakura bashing. I tried not to it's just...I really don't like Sakura. And she's so darn bash-able! **

**I'm going to start most of these chapters off with a clip from the past. If you haven't read any of my other stories then please know I'm a fan of time skips.

* * *

**Naruto slammed the door shut behind him then slumped against it. His happy demeanor had melted away the second he had entered his home, now he was serious. He had a prank to do! Naruto snickered and grabbed the heavy bucket of lime green paint that he used at a doorstop and started preparations for his prank. Most of the public wouldn't see it or even hear about it and he doubted that his friends would hear about it either but none of that mattered.

This stunt was not for publicity, this prank was to prove that Naruto was not useless. Naruto would strike the pivotal attack force of Konoha and humiliate it in the process. The ANBU headquarters!

XXX

Four years later

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to think of what to tell the genin. 'Who is Fox and why is he here' was a hard question to answer. Danzo was an evil bastard for putting team seven into this situation.

"Did you hear her, Sensei?" Sasuke demanded. The three of them were becoming increasingly on edge each second that Kakashi was silent. He had to talk but what should he tell them? Not a lie… but not the whole truth either.

"Fox…is part of an ANBU subdivision called ROOT. I can't tell you that much because I don't know that much but I do know that ROOT members don't answer to the Hokage. The leader selects orphans and trains them to be killing machines loyal to him and him alone." Kakashi grimaced at the reactions his students had, or the reaction his female student had.

Much like Tsunami had, Sakura rebelled against the idea. Sai and Sasuke just looked surprised and a little confused but Sakura looked appalled. She was rejecting the idea that her village could ever do anything so corrupt and Kakashi knew that meant more questions for him to answer.

"How is that allowed?" Sai said and Kakashi lifted an eyebrow. Sai was asking? Interesting…Kakashi supposed it was because Sai had been an orphan for as long as he could remember. He could have easily shared Naruto's fate if Danzo had desired it or if Shin hadn't been around.

"If it were up to the Hokage it wouldn't be but ROOT has enough power to do almost anything and get away with it." Kakashi explained. Sakura looked ready to ask a question but this time Sasuke beat her to it.

"Who's the leader?"

"I don't know," Kakashi lied. The three genin seemed placated at least so Kakashi took the opportunity to leave before any other question occurred to them.

Inside the room, only Sai felt that something was amiss. "He's hiding something." He said. Sasuke grunted in agreement but Sakura disagreed.

"Why would he hide anything from _us_? We're his team!" She said.

"If he thought it would keep us safe I think Kakashi-sensei would hide anything." Sasuke muttered and for a long time none of them spoke.

XXX

Kakashi made his way to the part of the roof that Naruto was at. He knew that the boy would not have slept once since leaving Konoha and, given the opportunity, he would keep watch until Zabuza attacked. As elite as ROOT was, members still needed sleep.

"Fox!" Naruto dropped into a bow the second he heard Kakashi's voice and the jonin sighed. "I'm taking over watch. My room's the last door on the right of the first floor, go there and get some sleep. Bath first." Kakashi said as an afterthought.

Naruto nodded then disappeared from the roof. Kakashi settled down where Naruto had stood and resigned himself to a long night's watch. It was better than letting Naruto stay awake.

XXX

Naruto walked quietly through the house. He heard the genin talking in one of the rooms he had passed and he had seen a young boy staring at him from a cracked doorway but he paid neither any heed. He rounded a corner and sensed the presents of the woman of the house just ahead of him.

Sure enough, Tsunami rounded the opposite corner and almost dropped her laundry basket in surprise. "Fox-kun?" She asked and Naruto nodded. The poor woman looked confused and Naruto suspected that she had many questions to ask him but he doubted that he could answer any of them.

"Could you tell me where I could take a bath, please?" He asked before she had the chance to gather her wits. Tsunami gapped like a fish for a few seconds as she stared at the ominous boy in front of her before she shook herself into alertness.

"We don't have a bath but we have a shower. In there." Tsunami pointed to the door on Naruto's left and he bowed courteously to her before he went inside.

The bathroom was small with a cracked floor and mold growing behind the tiles. It had two rooms, the first room contained the toilet and the second room contained the sink and shower. The shower was in the back and there was a rack of towels next to it. It was nasty but there wasn't anything better… and Naruto sure as hell wasn't going to clean it.

There was no lock on either door so Naruto had to hope that people would know to knock before they barged in on him. He set his mask next to the sink and tossed all his clothes and his backpack in a pile on the floor. He had a clean set that he would wear the next day in his backpack and if he kept up a systematic cleaning session Naruto would never have to wear dirty clothing during his stay.

Naruto stepped inside the shower and pulled the yellow and blue duckie curtain shut before he turned the water up to a scalding heat. Within seconds, steam had blurred the mirror and Naruto was roughly the same shade of red as an overcooked lobster. As strange as it might seem, Naruto enjoyed the searing heat and he allowed himself to smile. Who would see? If Danzo found out then Naruto would have more to worry about than his punishment.

Naruto carefully examined the bar of soap before he decided that he would be cleaner without using it. There was shampoo as well and Naruto used liberal amounts to get some of the grit out of his hair. That was the most unfortunate part of having such pale hair; it was obvious when it was dirty.

The hot water tank was apparently massive because Naruto had stood under the boiling hot water for half an hour before the water ran lukewarm. Naruto switched off the faucet and pulled the curtain open. He pulled a towel off the rack and dropped it on the floor. Then he stood on it and let the water drip off him and his skin tone return to its normal shade.

There was something methodical about bathing that made Naruto take as long as possible doing it. It was his sole escape from everything; work, training, the elders, the Hokage, Danzo, and a long time ago it had taken him away from the villagers as well.

Suddenly the doorknob to the first room started to turn and Naruto realized that someone was coming in. It didn't occur to him to shout; instead he grabbed his mask and put it on a second before the door swung open.

XXX

Sakura had sat in an uncomfortable silence with her teammates. She was angry at them for even thinking that Kakashi might withhold information from them. As a team they had to trust each other completely! On top of that they seemed to be unable to comprehend why she was so irritated. Sakura settled for shooting a very confused Sai dirty looks at regular intervals. She just avoided looking at Sasuke. She hated to disagree with him but she could not, in good conscious, agree with him either.

Eventually the sound of running water stopped and Sakura waited for ten minutes before she stood up and announced her intentions to go take a shower. She got to the bathroom unopposed and she knocked on the outside door before she entered.

Sakura checked inside the hamper but there were new clothing inside. Sakura stripped and dropped all her dirty clothes inside said hamper and she stacked her fresh set on top. She ran her fingers through her hair a couple of times to work out some of the worst tangles and she poked her belly a couple times to make sure it was up to her standard.

There was too much going on for Sakura to handle. First Zabuza and his partner, but she could deal with that because they were from a different village, and now Fox! Sakura couldn't believe that _her_ village would ever make a kid her age into a killer! Konoha was supposed to be the good guys!

Unhappily she opened the door to the shower and realized that there was another person already inside. A short boy with pale blonde hair and a fox mask on. Sakura stared at him for less than a second before she realized that he was dripping wet and _naked._

Naruto was paralyzed when the pink haired girl opened the door. He kept his eyes trained on her face and he slowly reached a hand back to grab a towel. Before he could cover himself the girl did something unexpected. "Kyaa! Pervert!" She screeched.

"Wha-?" He started but he was cut off when the girl charged at him with a wild punch. Naruto jumped back and grabbed a towel off the rack. He wrapped it around his waist and held it there with one hand while he sidestepped another attack. What was this girls' problem? He the hell was supposed to put his clothes back on when she was attacking him?

Sakura slipped on a wet towel on the floor and face planted the ground. Naruto was backed against the wall with one hand on the towel and the other up against the wall. There was the sound of pounding feet and Naruto looked to the door in time to see two black haired boys appear with kunai in their hands. Naruto felt a jolt of recognition when he saw Sai but he felt no need to revel his identity. They had been friends in a past life and he didn't want to do anything that might endanger his position in ROOT.

"What's going on?" Sasuke demanded. Sakura had grabbed the wet towel and covered herself but both black haired boys had red cheeks.

"He-!" Saukra started but Naruto cut her off.

"She walked in on me then attacked me." He said.

"No! You were a pervert and-!" Naruto never found out exactly what Sakura was about to say because Sasuke cut her off.

"A-are you Fox?" Sasuke asked. All movement stopped and all eyes were boring into him.

"Yes." Naruto said, "Now if you don't mind, can I get dressed?" Sakura scrambled to her feet and ran into the other room. Sai and Sasuke stared at Naruto for a few more seconds then they left the bathroom, careful not to look at their female teammate as they passed.

Naruto sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as soon as the door clicked shut. _Morons_ he thought as he pulled out his clean cloths and got dressed. He could barely remember why he had ever been friends with that lot of bumbling fools.

Well, it would seem that while he was on the mission he would not get a moment of peace. All the more reason he should hunt down Zabuza and kill him as soon as possible. Naruto opened the bathroom door and walked past the stuttering Sakura and into the hallway. Well it was clear from what Kakashi had said earlier that Zabuza was hurt.

What if, instead of wasting time guarding the house a.k.a. doing team seven's job, Naruto tracked down and killed Zabuza tomorrow? Make no mistake, Naruto was well aware of the risk but he was equally well aware of his own abilities. Naruto opened the door to Kakashi's room and took off his shoes before collapsing on the bed.

He a lot of sleep to catch up on, hunting Zabuza would come later.


End file.
